Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imprint system and a method of manufacturing an article.
Description of the Related Art
An imprint technique is a technique of enabling the formation of a nano-scale fine pattern and has attracted attention as one of mass production nanolithography techniques for semiconductor devices and magnetic storage media. An imprint apparatus using an imprint technique supplies an imprint material onto a substrate in accordance with, for example, a map (also called a dispensing pattern, an imprint recipe, or a drop recipe) on a substrate on which imprint material droplets are dispensed. A pattern of the imprint material can then be formed on the substrate by curing the imprint material supplied onto the substrate while the imprint material is in contact with a mold.
An imprint apparatus may generate a map so as to reduce defects, RLT (Residual Layer Thickness) abnormality, and the like in a pattern of an imprint material formed on a substrate. Japanese Patent No. 5214683 has proposed a method of generating a map in consideration of the amount of imprint material with which a mold pattern is filled, the residual layer thickness of the pattern to be formed on a substrate, the positions of shot regions and edges of the substrate, the concave-convex distribution of the underlayer (substrate), and variations in machining dimension in a post process. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-114157 has proposed a method of generating a map for one shot region by combining maps generated for the respective circuit blocks constituting a semiconductor integrated circuit.
In an imprint system including a plurality of imprint apparatuses (processing units), a mold used by a predetermined imprint apparatus is sometimes used by another imprint apparatus. In this case, an imprint process may be performed so as not to cause any difference between patterns of imprint material shapes formed on the substrate by using molds. If, however, a map used by a predetermined imprint apparatus is applied to another imprint apparatus, defects, RLT (Residual Layer Thickness), and the like of a pattern formed from an imprint material can change because of individual differences between these imprint apparatuses. On the other hand, if a new map is generated when using the mold in another imprint apparatus, since an imprint process in the imprint apparatus is interrupted during the generation of the map, the productivity (operating rate) of the imprint apparatus can decrease.